SELECT LISTS OF PLANTS. 



277 



ceeded by small berry-like fruit. Species of this genus may be sought 

 in botanical works under such generic names as Herberts, Mahonia, 

 Prinos and Myginda. The European Holly (/. aquifolium), and its many 

 varieties, is not hardy in our Northern States, but the American *Holly 

 (I.opaca), thrives in sheltered positions, as far north as the southern 

 counties of the State of Massachusetts. Several trees in my grounds 

 have withstood the cold and produced a fine crop of berries during the 

 past twenty years. The European and true American Holly are in- 

 creased by seed, which should be gathered late in autumn, or dur- 

 ing the winter, and placed in a vessel that will hold water and kept 

 wet for a few days, then the pulp washed off clean. The seed should 

 then be mixed with moist sand, and exposed to the cold in the 



Fig. 98. CION OF AMERICAN HOLLY. 



open air, or sown in a bed and covered about an inch deep, and the 

 whole surface of the seed-bed well mulched. The seed does not 

 usually sprout until the second year, and if allowed to remain very 

 dry they will seldom germinate at all. Varieties are propagated by 

 veneer graftings under glass in August. The American Holly is highly 

 prized for its bright, red berries, which remain upon the plants all 

 winter, but as it is not every tree that produces berries in abundance, 

 grafting has recently been resorted to for the purpose of securing 

 a stock of productive plants for cultivating in pots, as well as in the 

 open ground. The cions for this purpose should be taken from pro- 

 ductive native trees, the lateral berry-bearing twigs, as shown in figure 

 98, being selected for this purpose. I have in my grounds one tree of 

 the American Holly, not less than thirty years old, that has never borne a 



